Archive : May 2006
728 Are You a 21st Century Library-Ready Instructor?
May 30, 2006
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"No unit within the university has been transformed more by technology than the library. Reorganizing the library's physical space to make technology-enabled resources both more readily available and more wisely utilized is a laudable action made all the more challenging by 21st Century Learners' desire for highly social interaction with their peers. If convenience, comfort, and social activity bring students into the library, then so be it. They are in the right place to locate and gather the best data. Through close collaboration with the library, and thoughtful inclusion of the library in course assignments, faculty can play matchmaker, bringing together students and library resources in ways that result in meaningful scholarship."
Posted by markep on May 30, 2006
727 Enhancing Learning with Laptops in the Classroom
May 25, 2006
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"The real question requires more elaboration: What can we do with laptops in class that (1) has genuine learning value for students (is interactive, participatory, experiential, or hands-on) and (2) cannot be done as well or at all without a laptop, at least not in class? In fact, many of the laptop activities suggested here could be done as homework on any kind of Internet linked computer. So why not just assign computer activities to be done out of class and forget about laptops?"
Posted by markep on May 25, 2006
726. The Scholarship of Engagement: What Is It?
May 23, 2006
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"In sum, the scholarship or engagement, therefore, is a set of activities. At its core are four dimensions of scholarship-discovery, integration, application, and teaching. It becomes the scholarship of engagement through its active and interactive connection with people and places outside of the university in the activities of scholarship, setting goals, selecting means and methods, applying means and methods, reflecting on results, and dissemination of the results."
Posted by markep on May 23, 2006
725. The Lecture Club
May 18, 2006
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"Establishing a Lecture Club on campus provides an opportunity for instructors to observe their peers in action and to benefit from ensuing discussion of techniques for improving their own teaching. The program provides a simple low cost way of developing a community of teacher scholars."
Posted by markep on May 18, 2006
724. Reflections on More Than Half a Century of Teaching
May 16, 2006
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"I've cited this background because it bears directly on how my philosophy of student-centered teaching has emerged, evolving out of my experiences as a Spanish-speaker in the United States, acquiring a universe of knowledge in a second language. More importantly, though, my regard for the students in my classes is born out of my regard for the diversity of human life and languages on the planet. I've witnessed and experienced the result of disregarding that diversity in schools and in public."
Posted by markep on May 16, 2006
723. The Creativity Imperative: A National Perspective
May 11, 2006
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"At one of our recent meetings, John Young, the founder of the Council on Competitiveness and former CEO of Hewlett Packard, explained, "Our standard of living is not a birthright. We have to earn it in the marketplace every day." Today the United States has the highest standard of living in the world. The flip side of this is that we also have very high labor costs compared to other countries. We will never be able to compete directly with countries like China and India on the basis of cost, and, as low-wage nations around the world develop skilled workforces and adopt cutting-edge technology, we can no longer assume that we will win on quality either."
Posted by markep on May 11, 2006
722. Finishing the Doctoral Degree in a Timely Fashion:
May 09, 2006
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"Modesty is also helpful in choosing a manageable topic. Some students set out to write a dissertation that will change the world; others just want to write a dissertation. In terms of results, there seems to be no correlation between the quality of the dissertation and the ambitious nature of the topic."
Posted by markep on May 9, 2006
721. Political Bias in Undergraduate Education
May 04, 2006
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"Under the banner of an "Academic Bill of Rights," legislation has been introduced in Congress and in several states to help remedy what the sponsors charge is liberal political bias on college campuses. The bill, which has yet to be approved anywhere, would challenge campuses to adopt voluntarily procedures that the sponsors claim would encourage a diversity of political perspectives among faculty, campus speakers, and student organizations."
Posted by markep on May 4, 2006
720. Doctoral Dissertation - Looking Back, Looking
May 02, 2006
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"According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, despite a dearth of comprehensive national statistics, several studies have indicated that the attrition rate in doctoral programs could be as high as 50 percent (Smallwood, 2004)."
Posted by markep on May 2, 2006